The Doll House
by Natsuyuki Sera 1412
Summary: The SPR team has gotten a new case and with the creepiest thing imaginable. Dolls. Heads roll, dolls talk, and lives are put on the line once again in this horrific case. But in all that, the relationship between Naru and Mai is strengthened as they and the rest of the gang try tackling the mysterious work at hand.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The Doll House**

**Rating: T-for language, horrifying images, and sexual innuendos. **

**Summary: The SPR team has gotten a new case and with the creepiest thing imaginable. Dolls. Heads roll, dolls talk, and lives are put on the line once again in this horrific case. But in all that, the relationship between Naru and Mai is strengthened as they and the rest of the gang try tackling the mysterious work at hand.**

**Sequel to "Manor of the Slaughtered Guests"**

* * *

"Mai!" Naru had shouted from his office once again.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. I had just come back from the very _rare _vacation Naru had given me from our last case, and I was already getting worked to the bone. Make tea, organize files, clean the office, make tea again. The constant circle of working at SPR.

"Coming!" I shouted, grabbing the tray and carrying it to Naru's office. I opened the door to find Naru's desk swamped with papers. "Anything else, Master?" I rolled my eyes once again as I set down the cup.

"You can go now, Mai," Naru replied, taking a sip of the tea I made. Usually he would come back at me with a smart comment, but he didn't. Something was completely wrong here.

I shrugged off the thought and walked out of the office without another word. That's when I saw Lin walking around putting folders away.

"Want some tea, Lin?" I asked with a smile. _Probably no…_

Lin looked at me. "Alright." My jaw dropped, surprising him. "What is it?"

"You never want my tea!" I said. I narrowed my eyes at him. "What's going on? You and Naru have been acting differently ever since I came back."

Lin glared at me. "If you didn't want to agree to your offer, why did you ask in the first place?" Lin then went back to his computer and began typing.

"That isn't what I meant!" I said, but it seems I already ruined everything. Lin wasn't going to speak to me now.

I sighed. _Great… _I thought. _Maybe I'm just over thinking things…_

"Morning!" I cheerful, yet familiar, voice came. I looked over to the door to see Monk and John coming in, smiling.

"How is everyone?" John asked.

"Same as ever," I replied. "What bring you two here?"

Monk hugged me and rubbed my head, laughing as I tried getting free. "Just came to see how our Mai is doing!"

"Will you three keep it down?!" Naru had shouted from his office. He was defiantly in a bad mood today.

"Geez…" Monk said. "What bit him in the-"

Before Monk could continue, the door had opened again.

"Excuse me," a woman said, walking in, " I'm sorry to barge in like this. My name is Melissa Yakuzawa. Is this the SPR office?"

I smiled at Melissa. She was tall with blonde hair, most likely a foreigner, and she wore a business suit.

"Yes," I replied, "please, come in and have a seat."

Melissa nodded and took a seat on the couch. I went to get Naru, telling him that Melissa Yakuzawa was here to see him, most likely about a case. Usually, Naru would take a few moments before talking to a client, but this time he didn't.

"What bring you here today?" Naru asked, getting straight to the point.

"Well," Melissa began, "I recently moved into my grandfather's old home, who recently passed away earlier this year." Naru nodded and urged her to go on. "Ever since me and my family moved in, we've been hearing strange noises…"

"What kind of noises?" Naru asked.

"Tapping on doors," Melissa said, playing with her hands, "scratching on the floors and ceilings, and occasionally we here laughter."

"Laughter?"

"Yes…" Melissa took a deep breath. "Sometimes it's small children, sometimes it's women… It's different every time. Doors even open on their own, the temperature drops in rooms even though the heat is up… Then there are the dolls themselves that are causing a disturbance…"

"D-Dolls?" I questioned.

Melissa nodded. "My grandfather was a doll maker… His home was filled with dolls that he made. We were planning on selling them once we settled in, but then all this started." Melissa took another breath. "I tried ignoring it, figuring it was just my imagination, but then I was attacked."

"Are you sure?" Naru asked.

Melissa nodded. "I was pushed down the stairs… No one was home but me, and I was positive I didn't trip… I was pushed from behind and I fell. My husband then came home and found me…"

"Is there anything else?" Naru asked, looking up from his notebook where he had been writing everything.

"There is one more thing," Melissa said, "the dolls seem to switch places every now and then…"

"Switch places?" Monk asked.

Melissa nodded. "One would be sitting on the banister in the hall one minute, then when I turn around again it'd be gone." Melissa's hands were shaking now. "I asked my daughters if they had anything to do with it and they told me they didn't. They hadn't touched the dolls since we moved in."

I was fully expecting Naru just to say something smart about it not being spirits, but instead his words shocked us all.

"We'll take the case."

I really couldn't believe what I heard.

* * *

**Do hope the first chapter is good. =) I do look forward to writing this one, because it's been on my mind for quite sometime. Even if I do hate dolls. =P**

**Anyway, thank you for reading and reviews are welcomed as always.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Goodness you people are fast! O_O I just release the sequel and there's already 36 followers?! YOU GUYS SPAMMED MY INBOX! Not that I'm complaining.**

**This chapter is sort of rushed, since I wanted to get it up today before doing homework. My history teacher decided to give us homework and says "Write notes on your favorite 30 minutes TV show". I immediately thought, "Ghost Hunt!" Lol. So I'm going to take notes on that. XD Since it'll give me a grade and help me in the process.**

**Anyway, do hope you enjoy! Thanks for the support.**

* * *

"Mai!" Naru scolded again. "No slacking off!"

"I'm not!" I shouted. It was like he was making up for all the niceness he showed in the other case by being a total jerk.

I slung another bundle of wires over my shoulders and sighed.

"Need any help, Mai?"

I looked over my shoulder and saw John smiling at me. I smiled in return.

"Thanks, John," I said, "but I can handle it."

John smiled and picked up a monitor. "Some of this stuff is really heavy, Mai. So, I'll give a hand."

"Don't forget about me!" I looked over my shoulder to see Monk also holding a monitor.

I laughed. "Thanks guys!"

* * *

After setting base up in the open room on the first floor, Naru told me to go check the temperature in the rooms. Truthfully, I didn't want to after seeing the first sight of the dolls when walking in. They were everywhere! The kitchen, the living room, bedrooms, and all the empty rooms had them!

"This place really freaks me out," I said, eyeing every doll I passed by in the hall.

"No kidding..." Monk mumbled. He had offered to come with me to take the temperature readings since Yasu and Ayako were gone on other arrangements. Also Misako was also gone from this case, saying she had another case to handle. "I never had liked dolls..."

"Same here," I said. "I still haven't gotten over the whole mannequin thing from the last case."

Monk frowned. "I can understand why you haven't." I smiled at him to give reassurance, but I couldn't do that for long. The memory still frightened me.

Monk placed a hand on my head and I looked up to see him smiling.

"Ya shouldn't worry about it," he said.

I nodded and looked forward, getting back to our job.

After doing a few rooms and seeing the dolls more, I had finally noticed something.

"Is it just me, or do theses dolls all look the same?" I said.

"Now that you mention it," Monk said. "They do look the same..."

"My grandfather made them after the image of my grandmother."

Monk and I looked back behind us to see a man, looking about John or Naru's age, with brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a gray sweeter and blue jeans.

"You're Mrs. Yakuzawa's brother, right?" Monk questioned. I raised an eyebrow, not realizing that Melissa had a brother.

The man smiled. "The youngest of us five, yes." He held out a hand towards Monk, his smile not faltering. "My name's Tsujimura Razan."

"Wait, four?" I questioned. "So, you have three older siblings other then Mrs. Yakuzawa?"

Razan looked to me and smiled. "Yes, Ma'am." He bowed to me, taking my hand and gently kissing it like a prince. "And who might you be, Madam?"

Monk laughed and separated us. "Her name's Mai, and not 'Madam'." Monk then smirked and laughed slightly. "And you might want to be careful with the way you talk to her, Naru gets kind of jealous."

I lifted an eyebrow. _Since when has Naru EVER been jealous?! _I thought, not really knowing the truth behind Monk's words.

"Really?" Razan said, tilting his head like a child. "Is this...'Naru' fellow you're boyfriend, Mai?"

"What?!" I shouted, my face turning red. "How would you get that idea?" I laughed nervously. "Of course he's not! He's just my boss!"

Razan smiled calmly. "Well, that's a relief."

"Mai! Monk!"

Monk and I jumped when we heard Naru's shouting from down the hall. He must have noticed that we were taking to long for the temperature readings.

"Well," Monk said, walking past Razan, "it was nice meeting ya. We better get going before Naru has a fit."

"See ya later!" I chimed as I followed Monk, until I was stopped by Razan grabbing my hand again.

"I'll try finding you later, Mai," he said, calmly kissing my hand before leaving ahead of us.

My face flushed and Monk laughed.

"Well," Monk said, "you sure know how to attract attention."

I shouted at him for saying such a thing and then walked off, before Naru could get any more angry.

* * *

"What took you two so long?" Naru asked after I handed him the clipboard with the temperatures.

"We ran into Mrs. Yakuzawa's younger brother," Monk said. He smirked and looked at me mischievously. "_And _he flirted with Mai."

I glared at Monk. "Was that really necessary?!"

Monk just continued to smile. He soon looked to Naru, giving him the same look. "What do you think about that, Naru?"

Naru didn't answer and simply flipped through the clipboard. Then he spoke.

"I would appreciate it if Mai didn't let such foolish things go to her head," he said. "Rather, she should be focusing on the case at hand."

I felt _so _pissed off at him! I shot him a glare and crossed my arms. "Well, sorry if I was doing what you asked me to do, Mr. I'm-A-Jerk-Boss!" Naru glanced at me, but I didn't stop there. "I didn't ask for it to happen! Although, it does feel nice being appreciated! I don't even hear a 'thank you, Mai' from you!" I groaned and turned around, walking out the door.

Monk shouted after me, but I didn't turn back. I was so frustrated with his attitude!

_What the hell is his problem?! _I thought as I continued to storm down the halls, having no idea where I was going.

* * *

**Do hope that was a good chapter for you all. I had fun writing it, I just thought I needed Mai to snap at him. Do hope that's alright. Anyway, thanks for the support and I do hope you look forward to more.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Guess who's sick guys?! Yep, if you said me, you're right. I feel like crap, which means this chapter is probably going to be crap, or just really confusing. =P Do apologize for it though.**

**Anyway, have fun, and thanks for reading.**

* * *

*Narrator's P.O.V.*

"Way to go, Naru," Monk said, crossing his arms. "You're attitude made her run off."

Naru didn't say anything, he simply continued to look over the temperature's gathered by Mai. Once he finished looking them over, he gave them to Lin, who proceeded to put them in his computer.

"What is your problem anyway?" Monk asked.

Naru narrowed his eyes at Monk. "My 'problem' isn't any of your concern." That was the end of the conversation. Just the bitter tone that Naru said it with made Monk shiver, meaning he didn't want to ask anymore anytime soon.

"Um," John interrupted, "shouldn't we go after her? We aren't really sure how dangerous this place is yet."

Naru sighed. "Her running off just shows how immature she is. Just leave her be." Naru then turned his back to Monk and John, focusing on the monitors, which were showing nothing.

"What happens if we have an incident happen like that other case?" Monk spoke.

Naru gritted his teeth, but still didn't turn around to answer Monk. Naru grabbed his notebook and walked towards the door. "I'm going to ask Mrs. Yakuzawa a few more questions. Stay put." Naru then disappeared out the door.

"I have a feeling we made things worse…" John muttered, giving a weak smile to Monk.

Monk crossed his arms and frowned. "Still doesn't give him the right to be such a jerk to Mai. She hasn't done anything to him!"

Lin soon turned around in his chair, actually voicing his opinion of the situation. "Actually, I believe…"

Monk and John's eyes widened, pretty soon both were laughing. Lin wondered if he had said something wrong, but he couldn't think how his deduction could be wrong. Lin really couldn't process the idea that Monk and John were laughing at the idea of Naru being worried over Mai, due to the last case.

* * *

*Mai's P.O.V.*

"I think I'm lost…" I muttered, looking around the hallway I had turned down. I had turned corners, too many corner to be sure of where I was. I was lost.

But being lost was the last thing on my mind.

_I really shouldn't have said those things to him… _I thought, dragging my feet as I continued to walk. _Sure, he deserved it…but maybe it was a bit to much. _I stuffed my hands in my pockets and continued to rerun the words I said to Naru in my head. _I shouldn't have complained about him not saying 'thank you' to me… After all, I haven't really thanked him from the case last time… _

I scowled at the floor. _Wait a minute! Why am I thinking about all this?! He's the one being a complete jerk to everyone!_

I sighed, knowing I was in the wrong anyway. I needed to go back and apologize. Well, I need to find my way back first.

_Running off was probably the stupidest thing you could have done, Mai… _I thought.

I heard a small thud behind me, making me jump a bit. I quickly turned around to see one of the dolls had fallen onto the floor. I sighed, feeling a bit relieved. It was better then a ghost appearing.

"Mai?"

I perked when I suddenly heard a familiar voice. I quickly ran down the hall to the corner I had turned moments ago, only to see the familiar voiced to belonged to the person I had yelled at minutes ago.

_Uh-oh… _I thought, suddenly feeling frightened when he saw me. _Did he come to yell at me?!_

"So this is where you ran off to," Naru said, crossing his arms and frowning at me. I lowered my head, feeling he was going to scold me. "At least you didn't run off to far…" I looked back of, shocked at hearing a bit of relief in his voice.

"Were you worried?" I questioned, not knowing I had voice my thoughts completely.

Naru looked at me with narrowed eyes. "Of course." My face went red. "If you had run off and gotten yourself into trouble, who would do all the grunt work?" I glared.

"Well, you can always do it!" I said, putting my hands on my hips.

Naru gave me his narcissistic smirk and laughed. "And ruin my beautiful appearance? Unlikely." Naru then turned his back to me as I continued to feel the fire of hatred burning in me. "Come on, Mai, we still have work to do."

I quickly followed behind, forgetting that I was ever angry at him.

* * *

*Narrator's P.O.V.*

"You're looking for Mr. Shibuya?" Melissa questioned, tilting her head.

"Yes," John answered, "he told us he was coming to speak with you."

Melissa crossed her arms and frowned. "Well, he was here a few minutes ago."

"Any idea where he went?" Monk questioned.

Melissa nodded. "He asked me if I had seen Miss Taniyama and I told him I had seen her running down the hall moments ago." Melissa pointed down a dark corridor, probably the only corridor that didn't look too inviting. "He soon left to follow her. Since then, I haven't seen either of them."

Monk and John thanked Melissa and she left to go tend to her children. Monk and John looked at each other, both thinking the same thing:

Was Lin's deduction actually right?

* * *

**Like I said, completely didn't care about this chapter. Sorry about that, just felt like writing and this is what came out. I'm sure I'll link it together in someway or another.**

**Do hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

It was the next day of the investigation. We started by asking everyone to sit in the living room as Naru did his little Hypnotism experiment, to see if the cause of this supposed poltergeist is human or not.

"Breathe with the light, slowly…" Naru said. "A glass will move this evening. The glass will be sitting on the coffee table of this room."

Naru looked at me and I flipped on the lights. Everyone blinked and soon looked around.

"That's it," Naru said. "Please spend the rest of your evening like you would normally." Naru looked to Melissa. "Mrs. Yakuzawa, if I may have the key." Naru held out his hand to Melissa, who placed the key in his hand.

I brought out the glass, and as predicted, everyone's eyes were on it. I placed it on the table and everyone went back to talking among themselves.

"I'm getting tired," Tsujimura Rio, the eldest of Melissa's siblings, said, stretching and yawning.

"I think I will too," Razan said, following his brother.

"Aren't you going to help with dinner?" Yakuzawa Eisuke asked, Melissa's husband.

The two men left, not answering Eisuke.

"It can't be helped," Tsujimura Aaron said, smiling to his sister. "Just let them be. I'll help you instead."

"Oh!" Kimiko and Mami shouted, jumping up and down, smiling. "Can we help too, Mom?" Melissa smiled to both of her daughters and nodded.

"But," Melissa handed the girl's the baby she had been holding in her arms, "I need you to make sure Noritoshi gets to bed first." The two girls nodded and smiled, then ran off.

"Quite a big family…" Monk said, watching the family interact.

"I'm surprised all these people can fit in this home," John said.

"I agree…" I mumbled.

After that, Naru had everyone clear out of the room and he locked it. Then we made our way back to base, as the family continued to do their usual roaming around.

* * *

"Anything?" Naru questioned.

"Nothing yet," Lin said.

I sighed and moved my head back and forth. I was told not to move from my spot for unknown reasons. Monk and John were gone, just leaving me with Naru and Lin.

Pretty soon, just as I was beginning to think nothing was going to happen, the door suddenly burst open.

"Naru!" It was Monk, and he looked like he had just seen a ghost. I know how weird that sounds since we deal with ghosts and stuff, but his face was pretty pale from the looks.

"What is it?" Naru said, turning around.

"Something's happened!" John said from right behind Monk.

I looked at Naru to see his eyes narrowed. He was quickly out the door with Monk and John, with me and Lin following behind.

"Oh my…" I began. I covered my mouth at the sight. The room we were currently looking at was Noritoshi's crib room, and it was trashed. The wall paper on the walls was coming off as if something with big claws tore it. All the things on the shelves were on the floor and all the clothes from the dresser with scattered with the drawers falling out. The only thing untouched was the crib Noritoshi slept in.

Melissa had quickly walked over to the crib and took Noritoshi in her arms, who was crying nonstop. As Naru ordered, she went to another room where Monk would look over everyone.

"It's like the whole room was trashed except the dolls," I said, looking at the dolls that were still on the shelves and everywhere.

"Quite odd…" Naru muttered. After looking around he turned back to me and John. "This room is off limits to _everyone _understood?"

"Right," John and I said, nodding. Naru then left without another word.

_Why do I get the feeling all hell is about to break loose? _I thought as I slowly followed John back to base.

* * *

**Sorry it's short guys, I didn't really feel like writing this, but I did it anyway. I do hope it was an alright chapter. Sorry if it wasn't, I'm sick, don't feel like doing much. Anyway, thanks for reading! Comments are welcomed.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Guess what? I'm better! No longer sick. Thanks for all the get wells, I appreciate them. Anyway, I have a request before I get to the chapter.**

**If you like my fanfictions, go check out some on my orginal works on Fictionpress and Figment (links are in profile). I do believe you would like those if you like my fanfictions (such as these). But, if you do, feel free to life them or review. I don't get much feedback on them, so it'd be much appretiated. Anyway, thank you if you do that. Really, thank you.**

**Anyway, on with the chapter.**

* * *

"_**Mom… I'm so lonely… Why aren't you hear?"**_

* * *

I quickly sat up from my sleep, panting. I quickly looked around the room, wondering where I was. Then I remembered that I was in a guest bedroom at Melissa Yakuzawa's house. After what had happened in her son's, Noritoshi's, room, Melissa requested that we stayed there the night. Naru agreed, saying it was best to keep an eye on everything.

I stood to my feet and stretched. I turned to the clock to see it a little past three A.M.

"_**Mom…"**_

I turned around and looked to the door. I could hear a voice outside. It sounded like a child. I figured it was either Kimiko or Mami, but I thought I should check before making assumptions.

"_**Where are you…?"**_

I stepped out of my room and into the hall, looking down both ways of the corridor. "Hello?"

"_**Why did you leave me?"**_

I felt a shiver down my spine. "Is anyone there?" I took a few steps down the hall, but still no one was there. My room was at the end of the hall, and the way I was hearing the voices came from the wall, but maybe it was my imagination.

"_**I'm all alone…"**_

"Mai?"

I almost jumped to the ceiling when I heard someone right behind me. I quickly turned around, ready to shout the Nine Cuts, but I sighed with relief when I saw Naru's calm expression.

"Oh, Naru, what are you doing here?" I said, smiling and hiding my hands behind my back.

"I should be asking you that," Naru said, taking a few steps toward me. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

I smiled sheepishly. "W-Well…I thought I heard something, so I came out to check." My smile soon vanished as I shot Naru an accusing stare. "Hey! You didn't answer my question!"

Naru rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, looking toward the ground. "Why should I need to explain myself to you?"

I glared at him, but I lightened up when I noticed the look on Naru's face. It wasn't his usual cold and 'I'm-so-sophisticated' look. It was a bit melancholy. This wasn't like him at all.

"I was worried…" Naru mumbled.

My face flushed and my eyes widened. "W-What?"

Naru glanced up at me with a small glare. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

I slowly shook my head, not able to speak. I was still shocked by what he said. "B-B-But…why…are you…?"

Naru sighed and took more steps towards me. Every time he took a step, I took one back, which in turn made me hit the wall. Naru was soon looming over me, hands on the wall on either side of me. I wasn't able to move. I felt like there was something wrong.

"'Why?' you ask," Naru said, inches away from me. "Do I really need to spell everything out for you, Mai?"

I couldn't say anything, nor did I have time to say anything. To my surprise, _complete surprise, _Naru had kissed me. His lips were cold and soft, but the kiss was hard and forced. I was too shocked to do anything. Pretty soon, my eyes shut as he pressed harder against me.

Naru soon pulled away from me, but I could still feel his breath on my skin. I opened my eyes and met his blue ones, which gave me a shiver down my spine.

"Time to wake up, Mai," he said.

* * *

I once again was sitting up in the guest room. I looked around and soon realized what exactly had just happened. I slapped my head to my cheeks, burying my head in the sheets.

_OH MY GOSH! _I thought. _I can't believe I just dreamt of Naru k-k-ki-kissing me! _I shook my head roughly. _You're such a pervert, Mai!_

There was soon a knock at the door that startled me from my thoughts. The knocking continued, faster and faster. I quickly got up from the bed and rushed over, starting to get angry at whoever was bugging me this early.

I opened the door, only to see those cold blue orbs looking right at me. The ones that were looking at me no less then a minute ago.

"N-Naru?!" I said, jumped back.

Naru walked into the room, with Lin following behind. Naru looked around, as if looking for something. He seemed a bit angry, or panicked, but maybe I was wrong.

"Nothing's out of place," Naru said, looking back to Lin. Naru's eyes looked at me and they narrowed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"W-What?" I said, startled. I shook my head, getting the dream out of my head. I scowled. "What the hell, Naru?! Why did you suddenly barge in?!"

"We saw something on the monitors," Lin answered looking at me. "A child, around the age of seven, was walking down the hall."

"At first we thought it was either Kimiko and Mami Yakuzawa," Naru said, crossing his arms. "But…"

"But what?" I said, starting to get frightened.

"The child stood in front of the door for a moment," Lin said, pointing to the guest room door. "It soon passed through it."

"Reason of why we're here," Naru said, looking at me again. "You being a ghost magnet, we were concerned about what was going to happen." He soon looked away and around the room. "But it seems nothing's out of the ordinary."

"Are you saying the monitors were wrong?" I asked.

"Not at all," Naru said, putting a hand to his chin. "I'm just wondering why a spirit was showing himself openly like that…"

Thus the questions just continued to pile. To make things worse, we learned the glass in the living room didn't move at all. Which meant we didn't know what we were dealing with.

I just had the feeling things were going to get worse from then on.

* * *

**Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Anyway, remember, check out my original works and see if any of them fit to your liking if so, like them and review and stuff. It's appreciated.**

**Anyway, see ya next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

"Mai," Monk said, shaking my shoulder once again, "I don't think giving a doll a stare down will fix anything."

He was right. I had been staring at the same creepy, nerve cringing, doll for about…two hours now. I had nothing better to do; saying as everyone else was busy investigating the guest room and Noritoshi's bedroom. Naru and Lin hadn't left the monitors all day; John was investigating Noritoshi's room, seeing what had made those claw marks on the walls; and Monk was supposed to be investigating the hallway leading to the guest bedroom I was staying in. But, I guess Monk was done since he was standing right next to me.

"I have nothing better to do, Monk," I said, sighing. "Even if these things give me the creeps, staring at it is the only thing giving me entertainment." I looked up and glared at Naru's back. "Plus, _Mr. Sophisticated_ over there,hasn't let me leave the room!"

"And for good reason," Naru said, turning half way to meet my gaze. I flinched and looked away. Every since my dream, I haven't been able to look him in the eye.

"He's right," Monk said, crossing his arms. "Ever since that Manor case, who knows what will happen if-"

I looked at Monk. "But that had certain circumstances! I looked like the person that killed them. I don't think that's the case this time!"

"Mai," Naru said, now crossing his arms and glaring at me, "you are to _stay_ here until further notice, _understand_?"

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it!" I jumped at how angry Naru sounded. Maybe I had hit a nerve that set him off. "We're not taking a chance for something like last time to happen. We don't know much of the situation, so who's saying it won't turn out like last time?"

"Naru," Monk said, following with his eyes as Naru walked towards the door, "don't you think that's a bit overboard? I mean, the only thing that has happened is a room getting messed up and a child walking the halls… I don't think that calls for such rational thinking."

Naru noticeably froze before touching the handle. He stood there for a moment, as if processing what Monk had just said.

I sighed, starting to feel bad about yelling at Naru and not listening to his reasoning. I'm sure he had a reason for making me stay here, he usual did…even if I did hate to admit it.

I stood to my feet and placed my hands on my hips, looking at Naru. "At least allow me to go to the bathroom!"

Naru looked at me with narrowed eyes and I sighed. "I'll come right back, promise."

Naru shook his head and opened the door, saying, "Do whatever you want," before leaving.

Monk sighed and I glanced up at him, before both out attentions were drawn back to the door. John had walked in, looking a bit worried.

"Everythin' all right in here?" John asked, closing the door. "I just saw Kazuya walking down the hall and-"

"He wasn't happy?" Monk and I said in unison.

John grinned sadly and nodded. "Did something happen?"

Monk and I shrugged together. "Just Naru being Naru, I guess." Monk and I looked at each other and soon began laughing.

* * *

After awhile, I had left base to go to the bathroom. Naru still hadn't returned to base since the argument, which made me wonder where he could have gone in this house. It wasn't that big, which made me wonder how all these people could fit in here…

"Mai?"

I turned around from walking down the hall, and saw the face of the youngest brother of Melissa, Tsujimura Razan. I didn't feel like talking to him, really, but it looked like I didn't have a choice if he saw me.

"Oh, hi, Mr. Tsujimura," I said, smiling politely.

Razan titled his head and pouted a bit at me. "Aw, come on, Mai. There's no need to be so formal. Just call me Razan." Razan then smiled cheerfully.

I laughed. "Right, Razan. Was there something that you needed?"

Razan smiled once again. "I just saw you walking down the hall and thought that I would talk with you." Razan pointed a finger over his shoulder and smirked. "What do ya say about having a walk with me though the garden outback?"

"There's a garden?" I questioned.

"Yeah," Razan said, "my grandmother grew it before she passed away. After that, grandfather took care of it until he died." Razan smiled again. "It's quite lovely, want to see?"

I held out my hands in front of me, smiling nervously. "I would love to…but I-"

"Mai!"

I froze and looked over my shoulder to see Naru walking towards me. "Oh, Naru…"

"I've been looking for you everywhere," Naru said, standing next to me. He looked at Razan, quite coldly in my opinion. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tsujimura, but I'm afraid I need Mai back at base to lend a hand."

Razan smiled calmly. "Sure thing." Razan looked at me and winked. "I'll just see you later, Mai. Maybe then we can take that walk."

"R-Right…" I said, giving a nervous smile. Naru then soon pushed me away from Razan and continued to do so until we were out of his view.

"So," I said, placing my hands behind my back and glancing up at Naru, "what was it you needed me for?"

Naru didn't say anything for awhile and seemed like he was thinking. I knew he didn't forget what he needed me for, so I didn't know why it was taking him so long to answer me. Maybe he…didn't have a reason?

_Yeah right, Mai, _I thought, rolling me eyes at myself, _Naru always has a reason for making you work._

"The temperatures you took earlier were illegible," Naru finally said, shocking me a bit, "I need you to rewrite them. Then after that I need you to reset the cameras, place the audio recorders, and then take temperature readings for all the rooms again."

I glared at Naru. _That's a lot more then usual! _"Why all of that?"

Naru looked at me with narrow eyes, for some reason they looked angrier then before. "I'm sorry if you're to much of an idiot to understand after all this time how to properly do things." That seemed like the end of the conversation, which just left the problem unresolved.

* * *

"Can you believe him?!" I vented to John. John was kind enough to help me with resetting the cameras, according to Naru all of them were placed incorrectly and needed to be shifted. "I spent an hour rewriting those temperatures!"

"Calm down, Mai," John said, smiling kindly. "I'm sure that Kazuya had a reason for asking you to rewrite them." John shrugged. "Although, I could read it perfectly fine. But-"

"Even Lin and Monk could read it alright!" I shouted again. "I think he's just punishing me for pissing him off!"

"Mai, I don't think…" John continued talking, but I was barely paying any attention. I was too frustrated with Naru and trying to understand his reasoning for making me do all this labor. But I did hear John's final words. "Maybe Kazuya is just jealous or worried, maybe both."

I laughed, and laughed hard. "Naru jealous or worried?" I laughed again. "Yeah right! It's Naru, he's never worried or jealous."

John smiled sadly. "True, but you have to remember, Mai"-John's tone was serious, which made me focus more intently on his words-"Kazuya is just a teenage boy like me. I'm sure he gets worried and jealous just like the rest of us, even if he does a good job at hiding it."

John had a point. No matter how mature and complex Naru could be, he was still a seventeen year old kid. I kept forgetting that, but John reminded me.

"Melissa!"

John and I suddenly stopped when we heard Mami crying and Eisuke shouting. John and I were quick to act and run to where everyone was.

"What happened?" John asked when we saw Melissa hunched over in the hall with her husband behind her and Mami crying in Kimiko's arms.

"I-I don't know," Eisuke answered as John kneeled to Melissa's side and I took care of the children. "Melissa suddenly just collapsed."

"Mrs. Yakuzawa," John said, placing a hand on Melissa's back, "is everything alright?"

"M-My stomach…" Melissa mumbled, gripping her stomach as sweat dripped from her forehead. "It hurts…" Melissa soon began coughing a bunch and blood dripped from her hand onto the floor.

"Mai, call an ambulance!" John said to. I nodded quickly and ran down the hall.

I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine and I collapsed to my knees. My chest grew tight and I was gasping for air, like the air was suddenly gone for where I stood.

"Mai!"

I looked up to see Monk, Lin, and Naru running down the hall. Lin ran to Melissa's aid and Naru, along with Monk, to mine. I continued to gasp for air, but nothing was getting into my lungs. I was suffocating.

"_**Mom? What's wrong, Mom?"**_

I grabbed my throat as I continued to gasp for air, hearing the small voice next to me.

"_**Mom? Where are you?"**_

Tears began rolling down my face as I continued to feel my chest tighten.

"_**Don't leave me alone, Mom!"**_

"Mai, hold on," Monk said, resting a hand on my shoulder, "the ambulance is on it's way."

I shook my head and tried speaking, only managing a few words with what little air I had. "H-help…M-Melissa…" My eye lids soon shut on me, as I slowly slipped into being unconscious.

* * *

**Okay, I do hope you enjoyed the chapter. My computer is messing up and stuff, so there will be errors, no doubt... -_- Darn thing... Anyway, do hope it was all right. Again, I don't know what the plot is... I'm just sort of...coming up with stuff at the moment. Although, I'm getting closer to a main plot. Anyway, what did ya think? Look forward to hearing for you!**

**Thanks for reading and supporting!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Quiz time! What happened to the wonderful plot that I had prepared?**

**A) I'm lying and had none…  
B) It's still getting kinks out of it and is currently in progress.  
C) I lost it.**

**If you said "C", then you're correct. Congratulations, you learned this author is total winging this story!**

**Don't worry though, I sort of remember what I had…sort of… So, I'm going to try and go with that idea, with what I can remember.**

**Anyway, I wanted to ask you guys to go check out the Continuity Jumpers, (link of my profile) I think you guys would really like it if you like this stuff.**

**Also, sorry for the inactivity lately. To let you guys know, I made a forum, which will tell you when I plan on updating or if there IS an update. Just information I think you guys should know. Anyway, GO TO IT!**

**On another hand, enjoy the chapter! And don't complain about length….**

* * *

I had found myself in complete darkness. The familiar darkness that had corrupted my dreams so many times. I was beginning to get used to it.

I looked back over my shoulder, still seeing nothing through the abyss. "I wonder what's going on…" I decided to step forward, not getting anywhere just standing there, but I think I could have took a better option. Right after I took my first step, I began falling, as if I had stepped off a ledge.

I screamed at the top of my lungs. I felt myself getting nowhere and for some reason I wasn't falling anymore. I decided to open my eyes and I saw myself standing in a yard.

I did a full 360 turn, just to make sure I wasn't going crazy…but I wasn't. I was really outside, in front of the house Melissa had brought us to.

"Mommy!"

I turned around, watching a young boy run past me, towards the house. I looked back, seeing a young woman stand there smiling kindly, but something was wrong when she did.

The woman knelt down on the ground and gently placed her hands on the child's shoulders. She said something, and suddenly the boy's face fell. The woman then got up and walked away, carrying a suitcase with her.

_She's leaving? _I thought.

The scene changed to inside the house, showing an old man making dolls in a secluded room. There were hundreds of them just sitting there, some male and some female, but mostly females with long black hair.

_That looks like the woman I just saw… _I thought, stepping forward to get a closer look.

The door behind was heard opening and I turned around to see the young boy from earlier looking in.

"Dad?" the boy said, hiding behind the door slightly.

"Quiet, Kushiro!" the old man shouted.

The boy jumped and quickly shut the door, leaving the man to making his dolls.

The scene then changed again and I was completely taken back by what my eyes laid sight on. Tears began streaming down my face as I saw an old man and a young boy sitting by a bedside, grieving… I knew it was because the boy I saw a few minutes earlier, was lying in the bed with the sheet over his lifeless body.

I couldn't help but have the tears fall from my face as I watched the old man and little boy by him do the same.

A minute later, I was back in the familiar blackness from where I started.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a day since the last incident at the house filled with dolls, and I was back to running through the rooms, checking temperature and seeing if anything needed to be moved.

Sadly, I was never alone during these trips. Naru had always accompanied me, not matter how much I told him it wasn't necessary. Naru still came under the excuse "I'm making sure you're doing nothing wrong."

I really couldn't believe he was saying that! He didn't trust me! I just wonder why he's beating around the bush. Naru had always been straight forward when talking to me, but it seemed that Naru had become more distant towards me.

"Mai!"

I jumped and looked around, looking to see where the voice had come from. That's when I realized it was Naru who had shouted at me.

"Stop zoning out!" Naru scolded me again. "We have a job to do."

"Right!" I replied.

Naru and I took temperature readings of the office and we moved the camera since had gotten tilted somehow.

"Right," Naru approved, "next is the living room." Naru then began walking away toward the living room."

"Hey, Naru!" I shouted after him, but I stopped dead in my tracks when a small breeze rushed past me

**"Mommy?" **a voice asked.

A chill ran down my spine when I felt arms wrap around my shoulders.

**"Why did you leave me, Mommy?" **the voice asked again.

"Mai?" Naru asked, walking up to me. "What's wrong?"

"S-Something's…t-t-touching me…" I stuttered.

Naru and I quickly turned around when something fell to the floor, and the slamming of the office door was heard. We saw that one of the dolls had fallen off it's shelf.

**"Mommy…" **a voice said from the doll, which was now inching closer. **"Don't leave me…" **

The doll was getting closer and closer, making it's small body drag on the floor towards us. Before I could move away from it, it had attached itself to my leg. I gave a startled scream and found myself frozen in place.

"Mai, don't move," Naru ordered.

I nodded and watched as the doll slowly looked up to me.

**"Mommy…" **the doll cried. **"Why'd you leave me?" **

I screamed when the dolls hands began scratching down my legs. That was when Naru smashed the doll with the coat rake near the shut door.

The doll gave a shriek and it was soon lifeless again, and in pieces.

My legs collapsed from under me, only to make me fall into Naru's arms which fully supported me as we sat on the ground.

My hands were shaking and my eyes didn't leave the doll's.

"Mai!"

I jumped at Naru's voice and my eyes left the doll to meet his.

"I asked it you're hurt," Naru said.

I shook my head and Naru seemed quite relieved.

I turned back to the doll and eyes it's cold clue eyes that continued to stare at me. My spine tinggled when I felt Naru's arms wrap around me, resting his head on my shoulder.

"I'm so glad," he mumbled, sounding shaken, as if he was going to cry, but that was impossible! It is Naru we're talking about.

That's what I thought, until I felt warm water fall onto my skin.

"I'm so glad you're here, safe," Naru mumbled, "Mom."

I was frozen from shock. _Did he just…?! _I thought. Thus, I began to panic.

* * *

"This doesn't seem too good…" John said, holding back the laughter just like Monk was doing until her broke, and what Lin was most likely trying to do too.

"Can't you do something?!" I shouted, trying to get Naru's arms off of me. "This is really creepy!"

John smiled at me. "I'm sorry, Mai, but I can't do much. Kazuya has a different mind and body then yours."

I glared at John. "What's the supposed to mean…?"

John was about to answer me, but Monk answered instead, between his laughs. "He's saying that…you're more easily possessed…that Naru." Monk wasn't able to continue after that due to his laughter.

"In other words," Lin continued, "Kazuya is a much harder person to posses and it would take a rather powerful spirit to do such a thing."

"Making it hard to believe that Naru would get possessed by a child!" Monk said, still laughing.

"That's true," John said, shrugging a bit.

I looked to Monk, seeing him holding his phone and taking picture of my dismay. 'Naru' still hadn't let go of me. On top of that, he was smiling. Smiling! Can you believe that? I couldn't describe how strange it was to me.

"Monk!" I shouted.

"S-Sorry," Monk said, holding back some of his laughter, "but it might come in handy later." Monk then winked at me, smirking. I knew what he was thinking. My face couldn't help but go red.

"What should we do?" John asked, looking towards Lin as he crossed his arms.

Lin didn't answer, not did he lift his head from the papers in his hands.

Everyone just looked at him until Monk spoke up. "There's not much we can do." Monk crossed his arms. "If it wasn't Naru who was possessed, then maybe we would have a chance, but we don't have many options."

"What about what happened last time?" I said. Everyone looked at me. "At that time we managed to get the spirit out of Naru!"

"That's because Ayako was bale to cleanse," Monk answered.

"Miss Matsuzaki is unavailable," Lin said, "plus we knew where the problem stood. At this moment, we're pretty much grasping at straws for answers to _any _of our questions."

"That's true," I said, looking to 'Naru' who was rubbing against me. This was beginning to freak me out.

Soon, we all turned to look at Lin who released a rather frustrated, or exhausted, sigh.

"Something wrong?" John asked.

Lin crossed his arms and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm just wondering what had made Kazuya drop his guard like that… There is no way a _child _could manage such a hurdle to be able to possess him like this."

"True…" John and Monk mumbled.

Pretty soon, everyone was looking at me. My face went red when I saw that knowing smirk on Monk's face.

"Did something happen while you two were checking the rooms, Mai?" he asked, sounding rather amused.

I looked away stubbornly and crossed my arms, puffing my cheeks. "Nothing happened!"

I felt tugging on my sleeve and I looked down to see Naru looking up at me, pouting!

"Did I do something to anger you, Mom?" he asked. My eyes widened and I felt my face flush again when tears piled in his eyes. "If Kushiro has been a bad boy, he's sorry and promises he won't do it again!" Naru soon hugged me tightly, burying his head in my chest, which just got me even more embarrassed. "I don't want Mommy to leave me again!"

"Kushiro?" John questioned to Lin. Lin shrugged.

"Mommy?" Monk snickered, placing a hand over his mouth when I glared at him to stop.

"For the time being," Lin said, breaking into the conversation before I could strangle Monk, "I believe we should all get some rest and think this over." Lin turned his back to us. "I'll try figuring something out for this…possession problem, but in the mean time…"

We all understood what Lin was saying and knew there was nothing more we could do.

* * *

**Hey everyone, sorry for the very late update. Anyway, I need you guys to check out the Forum for some important information! Like, I REALLY NEED YOU TO. Because, I don't think I'll always leave a note like this explaining things. Anyway, go check it out. It's titled "Natsuyuki Sera: Author Activity" really easy to find. Just in case, there is a link in my profile.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

"Good morning, Everyone!" I said as I opened the door to base. Soon, I was met with a _very _heavy atmosphere. "What's going on?" I looked to Monk and John, seeing them all staring at Naru, rather…well…frightened really.

Monk looked over his shoulder and to me. "Well, it seems that over night Naru got…un-possessed…and, well, he's now…" Monk looked back to Naru, and I did the same. I cringe away when I felt like I could see the dark aura surrounding Naru. He was pissed, and it was noticeable.

"Why do I get the feeling that isn't the only thing he's angry about?" I mumbled.

"Mai!" I jumped and saluted, hearing Naru shouting at me. "Tea." Naru then continued flipping through papers, not even looking at me.

I glared and placed my hands on my hips. "Can't I get a 'please' first? I did just get up. Is that really any way to treat me after yesterday?!" Naru glanced at me, his mood seeming to grown worse, and I felt another shiver run down my spine. "A-Alright!" I then ran out the door, managing to hear Monk scold Naru, something about treating me kindly for once.

I walked down the hall, more like stormed down the hall though… My arms were crossed and I really could believe Naru was treating me in such a way. He was giving me the cold shoulder and had been for awhile.

"I wish he was still possessed…" I sighed. "It was better… Then, maybe, I wouldn't have to deal with this 'evil Naru'…"

Although, I did wonder what had gotten him in such a bad mood. I know that it must have been something other than getting possessed. Maybe it was because he let his guard down? Or maybe because he knew what happened when he was possessed and found it embarrassing?

Little did I know that it was for an entirely different reason.

* * *

I had gotten to the kitchen and was warming up the water in the kettle, when I noticed the tea was all gone.

"I wonder if there's any more…." I said. I searched the cupboards, but didn't find any more tea. "Uh-oh…"

I then remembered that Melissa told me about the storage room in the backyard, where they kept extra supplies, such as tea.

"I guess I could go check there," I said, beginning to make my way to the storage house.

* * *

*Third Person P.O.V.*

"Come on, Naru," Monk said, crossing his arms, "did you really have to scary Mai like that?" Monk shrugged. "I mean, come on, being possessed by a child isn't that big of a deal. It's happened to all of us at one point."

Naru didn't look over his shoulder as he replied. "I don't consider it that big of a deal… I let my guard down, and I've learned from the mistake." Naru began typing on his laptop, making notes about recent information he got.

"Then what seems to be the problem?" Monk said, narrowing his eyes. "It's not like Mai did anything to you."

Naru continued to type at his computer, ignoring anything Monk or the others said.

Monk laughed at his thoughts. "Don't tell me, you woke up in Mai's bed and are being all nasty to hide your embarrassment."

Naru's typing stopped for a moment.

Monk snickered, covering his mouth with his hand. "Oh my god… You're serious? That's the reason your…!"

"Takigawa," Naru said, keeping eye contact with the monitor, ignoring all the gaping mouths and eyes looking at him.

"Y-Yeah?" Monk said, in-between laughs.

"Shut up and get back to work." Monk flinched at the cold tone and knew he shouldn't have said anything.

Soon, everyone was frozen stiff when to sound of Mai's blood cringing scream got to their ears.

* * *

**Okay guys, sorry for the short chapter, but I'm sick (cold if you must know, my throats killing me and i'm really tired). Anyway, I do apologize, I meant to make it longer, but I just can't continue to look at the computer screen and type. =( As you can see I didn't really give much...thought to this chapter (from mistakes and lack of explaining things). But, I am making note of the next chapter and it will be up tomorrow, promise. I do, still, apologize deeply.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone, I'm back…for just this chapter, sorry it's short again. Anyway, thank you for all the get well wishes, I really appreciate them. I still am sick though, my head and throat still hurt, but I still wrote this.**

**On another note, we reached 101 reviews O_O Geez guys… This is more popular than MSG (haha, looks like message, lol). By the way, when I'm sick I have REALLY evil ideas…so uh…that would explain this chapter. Anyway!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Mai!"

I looked over my shoulder to see Monk, John, Naru, and even Lin running over to me.

"What happened?" Monk asked, kneeling by me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and jumped slightly, but I relaxed after a moment.

"We heard you scream from base," John said. "Did-"

"T-There was s-someone…" I said panting and trying to keep back my tears. "S-Someone w-was h-ha-hanging…"

"Wait, wait, wait," Monk said shaking his head. "What happened exactly?"

Naru and Lin brushed past and went into the shed, looking all around for any sign of what I was saying was true…I suppose.

"I-I came out here to get another box of tea," I said, beginning to calm down. "When I opened the door I was startled by a box falling, but when I looked up that's when I saw her…"

"Who?" John asked.

I began shaking again. "T-There was a woman, hanging from the ceiling! Her body was swaying, like she had just jumped and hung herself…but then after I screamed…"

"She vanished," Naru finished for me. He looked at me. "Was there anything that you thought was odd?"

"I thought everything out of that was odd!" I shouted, glaring at Naru. Naru just glared back, as if saying, 'You know what I mean.' And in truth…I did know what he meant. "Her head was bleeding…"

"Bleeding?" Naru questioned.

I nodded. "Yeah. Her head was bleeding and their was enough blood on the floor to fill up a bucket. I thought it was sort of odd since in the movies when someone hangs themselves they don't usually hit their head on anything."

"Mai," Monk said, sighing, "those are movies… If is possible that when the body was swinging that the head hit something and began bleeding."

"That's true," Naru said, crossing his arms and looking to the ceiling, "but for the most part that is inaccurate."

"Inaccurate?" John questioned.

"Yes," Naru replied. "If the woman's neck broke, then her blood pressure would have dropped down to nothing in about a second, so if she swung after that it is highly doubtful there would be any blood. Although, if the woman didn't break her neck when hanging, then swung and hit her head, it's possible that there would be blood, but not as much as Mai described. I believe that from what Mai was saying, Takigawa's suggestion is wrong."

Monk stood to his feet, helping me up also, and glared at Naru. "Alright, Hot Shot. What do you think happened?"

"Well," Naru said, "I would think you'd understand by just that small explanation." Naru looked at Monk, his frown being a bit more…frownyer then before.

"I think what Kazuya is trying to say," John said, smiling sheepishly, "is that the woman was killed then hung."

"W-What?!" Monk and I shouted.

This case just continued to get even more puzzling, especially after what happened next.

* * *

**Sorry guys, really short chapter, I apologize, but I'm sick, so I'm stopping here. See you next time.**


	11. Chapter 11

After awhile, Naru had explained what he had gathered thus far, which only explained the few questions Monk, John, and I had. Naru explained that the woman I saw was murdered, then hung to make it look like a suicide. After that was explained, Naru answered nothing else and told us to get some rest.

"Mai," Naru said, just as I was leaving.

"Yeah?" I looked over my shoulder and looked to Naru, only to have him not look at me.

After a minute of silence, Naru finally said something. "Don' go wondering around."

I glared at Naru's back, stuck out my tongue, and the walked out slamming the door behind me.

* * *

That night was probably the most quiet night ever, which just made me think of the case even more. Monk told me not to worry, and forget that I even saw anything, but it was easier said than done. I highly doubt _anyone _could forget such a…bloody sight. I felt sorry for the poor woman. Who could have done such a thing?

I sat up in the bed and looked towards the clock. I wasn't going to get any sleep at this rate. It was already well past midnight, and my head was filled with more thoughts than ever.

I looked up, feeling a small chill run down my spine, when I heard a strange noise. It sounded like a rope getting tightened, then there was a sound of something being dragged across the floor.

Something was in the room.

I looked around and noticed something in the shadows. A figure, most likely belonging to a man, was dragging something. A body. The man was dragging a body.

As if my gasp had notified the man of my presence, the dark figure looked at me with red eyes. The body dropped to the floor, no longer getting any attention. Instead all attention was on me.

He just stared at me, and I found myself unable to look away.

* * *

*Third Person*

Naru sat on the couch, looking through the files on his laptop. He was alone, telling Lin that he should rest and that there was nothing he couldn't handle by himself. Lin was reluctant and objected numerous times until Naru made the good point that he couldn't work if he was falling asleep at the desk. So, Lin left to rest in a nearby bedroom, but he told Naru he would be back in a few hours.

Naru sighed and scrolled down the screen, then stopped. He brought his hand to his face and rubbed the bit of sleep he was trying so hard to get rid of. It was his body's natural desire for sleep that just made him angry. He couldn't sleep when the case was in such a sad state.

A small chill ran through the air and a small sound of running footsteps were heard. Naru was immediately on his guard. That was until the sound suddenly stopped.

Naru looked up and saw Lin's computer was flashing. He quickly set his own laptop down and went over to said computer, only to see the flashing was indicating a temperature drop in the rooms. Naru, having the feeling there was something on the speakers, picked up the headphones and put them on.

Scrapping, walking, dragging, all were happening in one instant. But there was one thing that stood out to Naru, and that was the sound of a man repeating two words.

"_**You saw…"**_

At that moment, Naru tried figuring out where the noises were all coming from, and he learned they were coming from one place specifically: Mai's room. Why they were originating there, he didn't know. But he figured the ghosts were drawn to her, yet again. At times this was helpful, but at the moment Naru just wished that it wasn't so.

Naru uttered a small curse under his breath and soon found himself quickly running out of the room, making the headphones get pulled out of their jack and fall to the floor.

"Yo, Naru!" Monk said, yawning and raising a hand to say hello to the dark haired boy, only to be passed by rather suddenly. "Hey, what's going on?!" Monk turned around, seeing Naru quickly turning to corner and running up the stairs. Monk followed behind, curiosity getting the better of him.

* * *

*First Person*

It felt like it had been hours, but I knew it had only been a few minutes. My never left the figures. I felt that if I looked away, something was going to happen, so, I didn't.

"_**You saw…" **_it kept repeating, making it's way slowly over to me. His feet dragged against the ground, along with a rope he seemed to be holding.

My hands were shaking nonstop and I was finding myself in tears almost. I was so frightened that I would end up like that woman I saw, and there was a good chance that could happen. No one was around, until…

I suddenly jumped when I heard the door suddenly open, but I still didn't move my eyes away from the red eyed figure.

"MAI!" It was Monk, from the sound of it.

"Mai, don't move." Now it was Naru speaking, ordering me like he usually did. "We're going to come over to you, but you must not move."

_I wasn't planning on it! _I thought.

There was mumbling from beside me, then footsteps coming closer. I was tempted to look over, but I was still frozen by the cold gaze in front of me. The figured had jumped considerably and was no right in front of me, close enough for my nose to touch his.

"_**You saw…" **_he mumbled. _**"You know my secret…"**_

I had the small urge to reply, but was suddenly startled by a hand covering my eyes. It was warm, comforting, and somewhat friendly.

"Now, Monk!" Naru shouted.

Monk then shouted, from what I knew of experience, to be the nine cuts. Why he was doing that, I don't know, but I could really care less.

A small scream was heard, like a woman's scream, but it soon left along with all noise. It was silent again, and I felt safe once again. Well…sort of safe…

The hand left my eyes and I opened them to see Monk looking at me from the end of the bed.

"You alright, Mai?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Y-Yeah," I squeaked. I cleared my throat of the tears I had been holding back and began talking again. "W-What was that?"

"I don't know," Naru answered from beside me. It was most likely him who covered my eyes. I don't know what he was planning, but it worked. "Curious…"

"Curious?!" Monk shouted. "That's all you have to say out of that?!"

Naru said nothing. He put a hand to his chin and turned his back to us. "Monk, keep an eye on Mai, I'll be back shortly. Oh, and…" He looked back over his shoulder, smiling a bit, which just made Monk and I flinch. It was a terrifying smile, nothing like the kind smile I always saw in my dreams. Although, any girl able to see this smile would most likely thing that. "Don't tell Lin about any of this, all right?" Naru then left.

Monk and I looked at each other, wondering exactly where Naru was going.

* * *

**Hello everyone, terrible sorry for the long wait, but I've been moving (and still am). This chapter is indeed short, but I do hope it gave you some more clues as to what's going on with the case. I'm curious as to what you readers think, so let me know what you think happened to the people killed in the comments.**

**Anyway, this chapter is a bit special update, and I don't know when I will be able to update again. Most likely after I move I will be able to update, but I'm not promising anything.**

**Remember to comment what you guys think is happening or anything! And thank you for reading! See you next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

"What are you two hiding?" Lin asked, crossing his arms and giving me and Monk a cold stare. For the past few minutes, Lin had been asking questions about where Naru had run off to. Truthfully, we didn't know, and if we did, I'm more scared of Naru than Lin.

"We're not hiding anything," Monk said, smiling nervously.

Lin narrowed his eyes even more at us. "You know something and you're not telling me. Now, I'll ask again: Where is Kazuya?"

Monk and I looked at each other and then smiled back at Lin. "We don't know."

I had a fear that Lin was about to snap, literally. I've never seen him angry, but I kind of didn't want to. If it was anything I thought it would be, I'd rather be attacked by ghosts for the rest of my life.

"Calm down, Lin. I'm right here." Monk and I turned around to see Naru walking through the door, taking off his jacket and throwing it on the backside of a chair.

"Where have you been?" Monk, Lin, and I shouted at him.

Naru stopped what he was doing and looked back over his shoulder. "I was out." That was all he said, and after he continued to sort through papers. But, he then again spoke up. "Mai, is this all the readings from the time I was gone?"

I broke out of my trance and nodded. "Yep! I took them like I do the rest of the times."

Naru put a hand to his chin. "Interesting…"

"When are you going to start explaining things to us, Naru?" Monk said, crossing his arms.

Naru stopped looking at the papers once again and looked at Monk and me. "I'll start _explaining _when there is something to explain." Naru then went back to looking at papers.

Pretty soon, the door to the room opened and John walked in, seeming a bit…well…not himself. He was frowning and seemed rather disturbed by something.

"Oi, John," Monk said, slapping John on the back, "what's with the pale face?"

John smiled nervously. "Um, well, actually…" John paused for a moment. He then continued. "There's something you might want to see."

Naru and Lin looked at John, puzzled, and I did as well, but we followed John nonetheless.

* * *

"So you were wondering the halls, coming back from investigating the baby's room, when you found this," Naru said, crossing his arms.

In front of us was a door, dark brown, with a silver handle. You're probably thinking that there is nothing wrong with a door. What's so scary about a door, right? The problem was: me, John, Monk, and Naru walked this hall numerous times and _never once _had we seen _this_ door. It seemed to just come out of nowhere.

"Did you look behind it?" Naru asked, turning around to look at John.

John nodded. "I opened the door to find out what was inside, but when I looked in all I saw was darkness. Then suddenly a hand reached out and shut the door." John took a deep breath, having said all that in one breath. "I was going to open the door again, but it wouldn't budge."

"Why didn't you just break it down?" Monk questioned, putting his hands behind his head.

"I tried," John answered, looking to Monk, "but even then it wouldn't open."

Naru reached for the handle and turned it.

"Naru, I don't think that's going to-" Before I could finish, Naru had opened the door and walked in. "Naru!" I quickly went after him, but I stopped when I suddenly heard the door slam behind me. I turned around, but I couldn't see anything because of how dark it was.

"Mai, why'd you shut the door?" Naru's voice grumbled.

"I didn't shut it!" I said franticly. "It shut on its own!"

Naru sighed and seemed to be rummaging around, although I couldn't imagine what he was looking for at a time like this. It was too dark to see anything, let alone look for something.

I jumped again when something tapped me on the shoulder. I quickly turned around to find Naru holding a lighter, giving the place we were illumination.

"Scared?" Naru asked smugly.

"N-No!" I shouted, my cheeks going red.

Naru looked away from me, looking around the room. "Let's find a light switch before we try opening the door, got it?"

"Yes, Sir…"

We began searching for a light switch, but soon we were surprised by what we found at the corner of the room. I was so startled I screamed and clutched onto Naru.

"Mai," Naru said, calmly, "they're just dolls." Naru then shrugged me off and continued to look for a switch.

I glared at Naru's back and then turned back to the dolls. They looked all the same, some boy dolls and some female. The boy dolls seemed a bit younger then the female dolls, which I found rather odd. Usually doll makers made pairs, but these two dolls weren't a pair, in fact it seemed more like mother and son.

"Hey, Naru," I said, leaning in to get a better look at the dolls, "don't you find these dolls strange?"

"What do you mean by 'strange'_, _Mai?" Naru asked, continuing to walk around and look for a switch.

"Well, don't doll makers usually make pairs?" I asked, tilting my head at the doll.

"No always," Naru answered. "But I do agree that is uncommon for doll makers to make dolls that are 'Mother and Son' pairing. Usually doll makers make either two girls, or two boys, as a pair. Or there would be an older male and older female. But not many doll makers make a younger male and older female."

I had hardly heard Naru and what he was saying. I found myself drawn into the boy doll's blue eyes and the woman green eyes. _Somehow… _I thought. _They seem sad. _Just as I finished that thought, the dolls eyes moved and looked right at me.

"_**He killed us…" **_a voice whispered.

"AH!" I screamed, jumping away from the dolls. I tripped and fell on my backside.

"What's going on, Mai?" Naru asked, a small sigh coming afterwards.

"T-T-They m-mo-moved…" I stuttered, pointing to the dolls. "T-The dolls looked right at me!"

Naru turned around and looked at the dolls. "There's nothing odd about these dolls, Mai." Naru concluded that and then walked away towards the door.

The doll's eyes moved again, following Naru as he walked over to the door.

"They did it again!" I shouted. Naru turned around and the eyes went right back to how they were originally.

"Quit messing around, Mai," Naru growled. "Trying to scare me won't do you anything."

I glared at him after standing to my feet and placed my hands on my hips. "I'm not trying to scare you! I don't even know how to scare you!"

Naru didn't pay attention to me and continued to mess with the door. Monk and John were right outside with Lin and after talking to them for a moment they concluded that they would try breaking in the door with the crowbar that was found in the shed.

"Now all we can do is wait," Naru sighed.

"_**He killed us…"**_

A shiver ran down my spine and Naru turned back and glared at me. "Mai, I told you it's no use-"

"T-That wasn't me…" I said.

"_**He killed us…" **_the voice of a woman and child said again, turning to a much deep and sinister voice. _**"He…killed…us. He…defiled…us. He…scorned…us."**_

I looked back to the dolls and saw their eyes moving in different directions. I slowly walked over to Naru, watching the dolls as they continued to look at me. When I was close to Naru, he calmly put an arm in front of me and pushed me behind him.

"_**HE NEEDS TO DIE!" **_the voices shrieked, making me and Naru cover our ears. Soon, the dolls began shattering into pieces all around us. Glass flew everywhere and two or three shards had grazed me, but the rest didn't touch me.

It was quiet again. I opened my eyes to find that the lights, which were called broken by Naru, were on. I gasped when I saw the dolls lying on the floor and shelves, all broken in some way. A head smashed; an arm or leg torn off and broken; or the whole thing was shattered. The thing that really got me was that a few of the female dolls had been hung from the ceiling.

"N-Naru?" I said when I saw Naru walk over to one of the hanging female dolls. I could see he was scratched up from the broken glass too, a lot more than I was. I noticed that most of the cuts were on his sleeves and on his back, which got me wondering if he was protecting me.

I laughed at my thought. _Not a chance, Mai._

* * *

A few minutes later, Monk, John, and Lin had managed to get the door open and we were finally out of that creepy doll room. Monk had asked what happened, while Lin panicked (or much that I've seen anyway) over why Naru had so many scratches. While I explained to Monk what happened, John helped me put bandages on my cuts while Lin helped Naru in another room.

I couldn't help but wonder what had happened here. All the information we had gotten has been so confusing to me, which got me wondering: Who's telling the truth?

* * *

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the late update, but I have finally gotten the whole story plotted in my head (and currently writing it down). Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed and I was wondering:**

**What do you think happened?**

**Give your thoughts and comment! Thank you for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

A few hours has passed since the last incident. I stayed sitting on the couch, like Monk and John had told me to do, even if I told them I was perfectly fine. The one to be concerned about was Naru. He hadn't stopped moving around, and he was more cut up than me! Lin had told him _numerous _times to sit down and rest, but Naru always blew it off as a "suggestion" and continued to work.

"Mai!"

I broke out of my thoughts and looked up, seeing Naru glaring at me. Although with the bandages on his cheek and forehead, I couldn't take him seriously, even with that scowl.

"Yes?" I said, lifting my eyebrows.

"Come with me," Naru demanded. He then walked out of the room.

I glared at the closed door, until I heard him shouting from outside. "Mai, get out here!" I quickly jumped to my feet and followed.

* * *

"Where are we going?" I asked, dragging my feet behind Naru. For some reason it felt like we had been walking for quite some time. I don't know where we were going, let alone where we were in the house.

"You'll see when we get there," Naru answered. Cryptic as ever.

I sighed and soon felt myself run into Naru when he suddenly stopped. "Hey, what's the-" I cut myself off when I looked up. Naru had stopped in front of the door John found, the door that led to the room with us being attacked; the room which we had to _break down _in order to get _out! Why _he was here, I had no clue, but I…

"I refuse to go in there again," I said, backing away.

"Who said anything about you having to go in?" Naru said, stepping over the broken pieces of wood on the ground.

I pouted as I watched him go further into the darkness of the room. I felt myself actually getting more scared out here then if I were to go into the room with Naru. I heard something which made me jump, when there was actually nothing there. I shifted from my toes to my heel impatiently.

_Please let nothing happen again… _I prayed before running in after Naru. "Naru?" I looked around in the darkness.

"What?"

I jumped and almost tripped over broken glass when I heard his voice right behind me. I turned around and saw him holding up a flashlight.

"I thought you were staying outside?" Naru asked with a small, narcissistic, smirk.

I glared at him and crossed my arms stubbornly. "I was going to, but I thought you would get scared if I wasn't by your side!" I looked away from him, hoping he wouldn't notice my bluff, but he always saw through it. What was the point of hiding it anymore?

"You got scared, didn't you?" Naru sighed. "No use helping it…" Naru then turned his back towards me and began walking away. "Just don't get in my way."

I glared at his back as I followed him across the room. "If you didn't want me getting in your way, why'd you bring me?!" He didn't answer me. I swear he makes me tag alone because he thinks I'm his lap dog.

"_**He's to blame…"**_

I suddenly began feeling woozy, like something had just punched me in the stomach, but I knew it was the bad smell that suddenly got in the air.

"N-Naru…" I said, watching as he searched the desks. "How much longer?"

"Just be patient, Mai," Naru told me, opening another drawer.

"B-But…"

"_**Where is he?"**_

I felt worse than I did a second ago and I found my vision going blurry on me. "N-Naru…I'm not feeling too well…"

"_**Where did you take him?"**_

It felt like my stomach was being wrenched out and the smell was dreadful, like rotting corpses. How was Naru not smelling this? I felt my legs collapse from underneath me, and I hunched over, just trying to get rid of the pain.

"Mai, what's wrong?"

"_**You're hiding him…"**_

I couldn't answer Naru.

"Mai, I need you to answer me in order for me to help you!" Naru said angrily. I knew he wasn't actually angry, even though it sounded like it.

"_**WHERE DID YOU TAKE HIM?!"**_

The pain in my stomach turned to my chest and I found myself holding back the cries.

"Mai!"

I felt Naru's arms wrap around me and carry me, which was very strange in my opinion, but I wasn't really focused on that. Something was in his hands, but I didn't know what it was either. All I cared about was getting out of that room. Naru gently, more gentle then I could have ever thought, took me to the door and set me down in the hall. Once out of that room, I felt better. The smell was gone; the cringing pain in my stomach and chest was gone; and the voices had stopped.

"Mai, answer me." I looked up to see Naru only a few inches away from my face. My face went red. "What happened?"

"I-I…" I found myself at a loss for words and found myself just staring at Naru. I suddenly…forgot what had happened in that room.

Naru didn't pull away from me, nor did his eyes leave mine. It was weird, saying as he never did something like this before. I then noticed he was slowly leaning in closer to me. My chest began pounding and I wondered what was going on, but my mind kept wondering to the same conclusion. _Is he going to…?!_

Naru suddenly pulled away from me and pretty soon flicked me in the forehead.

"Hey, what was that for?!" I shouted. Naru didn't answer me, just stood to his feet and looked away.

"We better get to back…" Naru said. "We got what we came for, there's no point in staying near this place any longer." Naru then pulled me to my feet, startling me. He then let go and began walking away.

I stood there for a moment, wondering what the hell just happened. Even if I tried to think it through, nothing became clear; in fact, I think it became _less _clear.

"MAI!" Naru shouted.

"C-Coming!" I said, quickly breaking out of my thoughts and running after my boss. I continued to have the same thought run through my head: _Was Naru about to kiss me?_

* * *

**Hello everyone, do hope you enjoyed. Short, I know, couldn't be helped though. I got to go to bed in like…ten minutes from when this was written so, It had to be short. I'll hopefully update tomorrow. We're nearing the end here! Don't worry…it's going to be epic! I guarantee!**

**Leave a review and thanks for reading and the support!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay everyone, this story wasn't very long, I know. Unlike "Manor of the Slaughtered Guests" it's not 25 chapters, instead it's 14 chapters. I know: "short" but there wasn't much that was happening on this case. SO, this is VERY near the end, because…oh I'll let you read it.**

**But there is a sequel after this! So, don't stress about it being the end. Actually, I was thinking about making this a series similar to the manga series for Ghost Hunt (just maybe not 12 volumes/books, I think the most would be six, maybe, but ya never know how many things I'll come up with).**

**I want to thank you all for reading this fanfiction and I'm so glad you enjoyed this story. I have to say "The Doll House" was very popular, more popular than "Manor of the Slaughtered Guests". I do hope that you can continue to support me in my writings and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this final chapter.**

**Until then, enjoy!**

* * *

My chest was hurting beyond belief. Water continued to come into my mouth and I was struggling to get to the surface. How did I even get into water? I was sitting on the couch, listening to Monk and Naru argue just a minute ago, something about what was inside the journal Naru had found. Am I dreaming? If I am, when did I fall asleep? There were so many questions that I wanted to answer, but my mind had gone blank and I wasn't able to think.

"_Mai, wake up!"_

Someone was calling for me, but the voice was so distorted that I didn't know who it was.

I continued to struggle, but it wasn't helping. My energy was beginning to vanish and I couldn't struggle anymore, so I slowly began to sink.

"_Mai, come on, wake up!"_ There was the voice again. It was screaming this time, but I still couldn't tell who it was. Monk? John? Ayako? Masako? Lin? Or maybe it could have been Naru.

My eyes shut and I was drifting from consciousness when suddenly something gripped my hand and pulled me up. Next thing I knew I was out of the water with the cold air numbing my skin. I coughed up the water that had been in my lungs and slowly opened my eyes, only to see a kind smile looking my way.

"Naru?" I mumbled. Indeed it was Naru, but only the one from my dreams. He was looking at me, kindly, as if nothing bad had happened. "What's-"

"Shush…" he said, brushing his hand across my cheek. His head titled to the side and his smile seemed to become even kinder. "They need your help, Mai."

"Who needs my help?" I asked, struggling to see his face now.

"That's what you need to find out for yourself," Naru answered.

I closed my eyes against the bright light and when I was able to open them again, Naru was gone and I was looking into deep brown eyes. I was looking at Monk, who was leaning over me, inches from my face. "Hey, you're awake!"

"M-Monk?!" I shouted, managing to back away a bit when he stood to his feet. "W-What's-"

"You fell asleep on the couch, Mai," John answered, smiling. "We were a bit worried for a moment, whenever we tried waking you, you wouldn't come to."

"Now that you're awake," Naru said, shutting the journal in his hands, "we can finally solve this case."

"Solve?" I questioned. "You mean…" Naru looked over his shoulder, just as his hand touched the door knob. "You solved it already?"

Naru simply rolled his eyes and left. I quickly got up and followed along with John and Monk (Lin taking off to do something else), most likely wondering what was going on.

* * *

"What are we doing out here?" I asked, watching Monk open the storehouse door.

Naru didn't answer me. When the door was open, he walked in with us following. Naru then began looking around for something, rather desperately.

"All right, Naru," Monk said, putting a hand on his hip, "isn't it about time for you to explain what we're doing here?" Right after Monk said that, the doors slammed shut and we were stuck in a dark storehouse.

"_**Where is he…?" **_a woman's voice cried.

I felt a small shiver jolt down my spine when I felt something wet drip against my head. I looked up and screamed when I saw the cold eyes of a woman as she hung from the ceiling, still gently swinging back and forth.

"Move, Mai!" Monk shouted. Just as he and John were coming to get me, the boxes in a far corner fell on top of them, trapping them beneath.

I did as Monk told me and began to move, only to have myself slip on the pool of blood. My heart began racing when I found my hands and clothes covered in red, but I was jumped out of those thoughts when the body of the woman fell to the ground. I continued to back away, crawling, when the body began, slowly, crawling to me.

"_**Where did you take him…?" **_she said, eyes wide and looking directly at mine. I was scared and could feel myself panicking even more than before. _**"WHERE IS HE?!"**_

I screamed again when the woman's hand grabbed my ankle and kept me from moving away. Before I knew it, I was screaming for Naru, and when I opened my eyes, he was there holding out a piece of paper towards the ghost. Whatever was on that paper, it made the ghost surprised and she backed off.

"The person you're looking for is dead," Naru said.

I looked at the woman and saw her eyes trembling and tears began streaming down her face. _**"N-No…that's…" **_Soon her expression turned cold. _**"You're lying!"**_

"I'm not lying," Naru said, narrowing his eyes. "You're hurting innocent people because you want revenge for something that happened to you a long time ago. Get over it and move on."

I couldn't believe how cold his words were, or how angry they were. Even if he was angry, he shouldn't have been putting it out on someone who's been hurting and is stuck here with no way of leaving, even if they wanted to.

Before I knew it, I found myself standing between the woman and Naru, which surprised Naru no doubt.

"Stop it, Naru!" I shouted. "Do you have to be so heartless?!"

Naru was silent and stayed silent.

I turned around and kneeled in front of the woman and smiled, even though I was still quit frightened. "He's sort of right. You shouldn't be hurting people because you want revenge. Even if someone did something so terrible, even killing you, it doesn't give you the excuse to try killing them in return. They have to live with that action for the rest of their life and live with the guilt. Isn't that enough revenge?"

The woman blinked at me, but soon returned my smile through her tears without saying anything in reply.

I gave another kind smile and nodded lightly. "I think its best that you, and Kushiro, leave and move on. There's nothing else for you here."

The woman nodded at me, and I was amazed when I saw her fading away in a pale blue light.

"So, case solved?" Monk asked, having gotten himself and John out from under those boxes.

"Yes," Naru said.

"Wait a minute!" I shouted, quickly standing to my feet. "What the heck happened?!"

Naru looked back at me, Monk, and John. He sighed and soon began a, rather lengthy, explanation about the case.

"The woman you just saw was Tsujimura Yumako, Yakuzawa Melissa's grandfather's wife," Naru said. "Mrs. Yakuzawa's grandfather, Matsunaga, and Yumako had two children: Toshiro, who is Melissa and her brothers' father, and Kushiro, who died of pneumonia at the age of seven after being pushed into the pond by his father. Kushiro had caught Matsunaga killing Yumako, who cheated on her husband, and Matsunaga threw Kushiro into the pond in rage." Naru crossed his arms. "The dolls you've been seeing around the house were Matsunaga's way of showing how guilty he was over killing his beloved wife and son."

"Wait," Monk said, shaking his head and hands, "what about the shadowy thing that almost got Mai?"

Naru looked at Monk. "That was Kushiro's way of showing Mai what he saw that day his mother was killed."

"So," I said, folding my hands in front of me and looking down, "in the end, Yumako just wanted to get revenge on her husband who had killed her and her son." I looked at Naru. "Is that why you showed her a picture of Tsujimura Matsunaga's grave?"

"Precisely," Naru answered. Naru looked up. "I had the small thought that Yumako would understand that her husband was gone and there was no since in revenge. But"-Naru looked at me with a small, barely noticeable, smile-"it seems you conveyed that better than me, Mai. Good job."

I found myself smiling at Naru's rare compliment and I was relieved to know that this had brought yet another case for the SPR team to a close.

* * *

*Epilogue*

A day later, Naru had asked Yakuzawa Melissa to bring her father, Tsujimura Toshiro, over to the SPR office. When Melissa and Toshiro came, Naru had told them that during the case he had learn from Tsujimura Matsunaga's journal that he had left a note for his son, along with a pair of dolls that Matsunaga crafted himself, which he explained to me that Lin got them while we were letting Yumako cross over. The dolls consisted of a wife, a husband, and two sons, which Naru suggested was Matsunaga's family.

Toshiro had read the note his father had left him which explained the things Matsunaga did to his wife and Kushiro. Naru had said earlier that he wouldn't be surprised if Toshiro hated his father after that, but it seemed that Naru was wrong. Toshiro said he didn't hate his father, and he could understand what kind of pain his father must have been in when seeing his wife with another man in the garden they both planted themselves. Then after killing his wife and killing his brother, the guilt he must have felt must have been much worse.

Toshiro said, "I think my father had been through enough pain throughout his life, and if I begin to hate him that would just make him feel worse wherever he is. I would never hate my father, even if he did such terrible things." After that Toshiro began to cry when he saw the dolls.

After everything was calm, Melissa had thanked us yet again and left with her father, Toshiro, along with the dolls.

"Naru," I said, looking to Naru.

"Hm?" he hummed, still not looking up from his notebook.

"Why did you tell Lin to find the dolls?" I asked, holding the tray I carried tea on to my chest. "You could have solved the case and never found the dolls, or the note."

"Someone once said, 'You can't take back what you have said or did, but if you want closure you need to own up to it. Apologize for it and try to make it right.' Tsujimura Matsunaga wasn't trying to make things right, nor was he hoping to get closure. He figured that if he told his son the truth, his son would hate him. Instead, Toshiro realized that his father was deeply sorry for what he had done and didn't hate him for it."

I was about to ask my question, but Naru stood to his feet and began walking back to his office, vanishing behind the door after saying, "Hatred is self-punishment. It's a coward's revenge for being intimidated."

In the end, I knew Naru was just thinking what was best for the family, even if he didn't admit it himself. He wanted Toshiro to know about what happened to his brother and his mother. Naru didn't want him to not have closure and he didn't want Toshiro to continue wondering what had happened to his family members. So, Naru found the one thing that could bring peace back to the minds of the broken family.

Somewhere in my heart, I hoped that Yumako and Kushiro understood what Matsunaga was trying to convey through his Doll House.

* * *

**Well, that's the end of "The Doll House"! Thank you everyone for reading and I hope to have the next book of the series up sometime this week or next week. I do hope you enjoyed this and if you have any questions about anything, PM me!**

**Thank you for staying with this story and thank you for the favs, alerts, and reviews!**

**I look forward to seeing you all in the next book: "Museum of Delusion and Revulsion". **


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